Our worship will be...Sincere

As Christians, our worship can be powerful, and Spirit-filled, but if it isn’t filled with truth, if it isn’t sincere, it can damage others more instead of uplifting them!

Ephesians 4:22-25 – You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

How can worship be insincere?

Difference in how we worship vs how we live

Insincere worship stems from a heart condition! Is the rest of life matching up to our Sunday worship? We pretty ourselves up, walk around with each other at church, and speak the lingo. But when we get among friends, co-workers, drive in our cars (and deal with the inevitable frustrating drivers), or stand in line at the grocery store, our lives are in complete contrast to what we say we believe.

Brennan Manning reflected upon this thinking when he said, "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

Ephesians instructs us to put off falsehood – to take up the call of righteousness and holiness. Sincere worship shouldn’t be a mask of what others expect our righteous lives to be. It should be a reflection of who we are – down to the core of ourselves!

Doing worship for the wrong audience

As we have discussed previously, our worship is for the Lord, not for people! When we find ourselves making worship decisions based on a human standpoint, insincerity can find take hold. We use terms we would never use in our own personal prayer lives (if we actually have one!).

I don’t intend to discuss the appropriateness of lifting hands or closing ones eyes during worship (suffice it say that I believe there is a place for them in worship). However, when we’re motivated by what others think of us, we can find ourselves lifting hands to impress others, or looking “worshipful” to inspire others to worship.

To many, this is what can make worship false.

What does God require?

John 4:24 reminds us that “God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” When we worship HIM, walking in His Spirit – we are able to be sincere in our worship. HIS righteousness shines through us! It’s not false worship, it’s a grateful heart pouring out gratitude and worth upon the Savior of the World!